Domestic equity markets rebounded smartly on Thursday after the steep sell-off in the previous trading session, amid the weekly expiry of the F&O contracts. Second rung counters were more in demand after the selling pressure, thanks to the institutional buying at Dalal Street. BSE Sensex reclaimed 73,000-mark and eventually rose 335.39 points, or 0.46per cent, to end the day at 73,097.28. NSE's Nifty ended at 22,151.00, gaining 153.30 points, or 0.70 per cent for the day. Broader market outperformed as the BSE midcap index rose more than 2.1 per cent, while the BSE smallcap index surged over 3.2 per cent for the day. Markets recovered after Wednesday’s fall as the Nifty inched gradually higher in the first half however profit taking around the hurdle area at 22,200 capped the upside. All the key snd belectors, barring banking, participated in the move wherein energy, IT and metal were among the top gainers, said Ajit Mishra, SVP - Technical Research at Religare Broking. "Participants shouldn’t read much into a single-day rebound, especially in the broader indices and wait for some stability. Meanwhile, focus on sectors and stocks that are showing relatively higher strength like IT and select banking and FMCG names for long trades and maintain a few shorts also as a hedge," he said. On a sectoral front, only the Nifty private bank and financial services indices disappointed for the day. Among the gainers, the Nifty oil & gas index gained 2.5 per cent, while the Nifty metal, media and IT indices rose 2 per cent. The Nifty pharma index gained 1.45 per cent, while the the Nifty realty, healthcare and consumer durable indices gained over a per cent each. Adani Group stocks saw some buying action as Adani Energy Solutions and Adani Total Gas surged more than 11 per cent, while the Adani Green was up 10 per cent. Adani Enterprises gained over 6 per cent, while Adani Ports, ACC, Ambuja Cements and Adani Wilmar also advanced over 4 per cent. NDTV was up 5 per cent, while Adani Power added 2 per cent for the day. In the Nifty50 pack, Hindalco rose 3.75 per cent for the day, most after the Adani duo. Hero Motocorp was also up 3.68 per cent, while ONGC added 3.37 per cent. Among the laggards, Axis Bank dropped more than 1.8 per cent, while IndusInd Bank, Bajaj FInance and JSW Steel shed over a per cent each. The market was able to recover half of last trading day’s sell-off as leverage based square-off neutralised it, while institutional buying sustained the buoyancy, said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services. "Domestic economic data wholesale price inflation (WPI) eased to four-month low at 0.2 per cent YoY in February, bringing ease to upcoming CPI trajectory, a relief for future rate cuts. The broader market is outperforming the headline indices, taking advantage of Mid and Small cap as a bargaining strategy," he said. A total of 3,958 shares were traded on BSE on Thursday, of which 2,730 settled with gains. 1,144 stocks ended the session with cuts while 84 shares remained unchanged. During the day, 346 shares hit their upper circuit, whereas 443 shares tested the lower circuit levels for the day. In the broader markets, Jain Irrigation Systems, BLS International and Rico Auto Industries hit an upper circuit of 20 per cent each. Rama Steel Tubes, ITI and Action Construction Equipments rallied 18 per cent each. SJVN gained 17 per cent, while DCX India, Suryoday Small Finance Bank and Amjera Realty rose 16 per cent each. YES Bank ended 12 per cent higher for the day. Among the laggards, India Pesticides tumbled 9 per cent for the day, while Cressanda Solutions declined 7 per cent. Tata Investment Corporation, Jubilant Industries, Waaree Renewable Technologies, Gensol Engineering and Wendt hit lower circuit of 5 per cent each for the day.